Posts Tagged “Pacific Northwest blueberry shipments”
California Giant Berry Farms of Watsonville, CA is forecasting giant volumes of blues ahead.
California Giant blueberry growers in the Pacific Northwest started picking the first week in July, with total supply offering a strong volume window from mid-July through mid-August of both conventional and organic fruit.
“The pandemic greatly increased consumers’ desire for blueberries, and it hasn’t dissipated in 2022,” said Markus Duran, director of bushberry supply for California Giant Berry Farms. “Blueberries are increasingly becoming a consistent staple for consumers, who enjoy their immune-boosting nutrition, sweet taste and versatility as a fresh snack or ingredient item to a recipe. We anticipated this demand and are excited to report our summer production is on track to deliver top-quality fruit.”
“Overall, we’re seeing a good year-over-year increase in volume,” Duran said. “We’re forecasting for a strong harvest of conventional blueberries out of Oregon and British Columbia, and organic harvest out of Oregon and Washington in July and August. We’re on the right track to have a very positive year of blueberries.”
California Giant continues to provide a year-round supply of grown fresh berries.
Pacific Northwest blueberry shipments have been soaring in recent years.
Each season new records for blueberry shipments have been broken. Oregon blueberry shipments hit 134 million pounds last season, while and Washington State, which had only 18 million pounds in 2006, shipped 130 million pounds in 2018.
As the per capita consumption of blueberries in North America continues to increase faster than any other berry category, a reported 70 percent of the high bush blueberry production in the United States is currently in the West.
Within the five years it is expected Washington will exceed 200 million pounds, primarily due to new plantings.
Organic “blues” are also a major part of the blueberry industry accounting for nearly 25 percent of Oregon volume. In Washington, 90 percent of fresh blueberry production is organic.
With 20,000 pounds or more being harvested per acre, the Pacific Northwest has some of the highest blueberry yields in the world.